I’m a Walking Experiment!!!

DID YOU KNOW………

That my blog has officially been around for 16 months almost to the day?!?!?! And in that time I have written 43 posts, making this one number 44!!!!

Ahem………. 😬

Okay, I realize this may not be most IMPRESSIVE number. However from March 2019 through December 2019 (9 months) I wrote 21 posts…..and NOW, from January 2020 to today, (8 months) I have written 23 posts!!!!! And I am still going strong and committed to my mission of posting one blog per week!!

Hey!! Sometimes progress is incredibly tiny (even microscopically-so) and YET, should still be celebrated. And this applies to many things so don’t you forget it!!!!!!!! 😉 (A.K.A. Please celebrate your successes more often! There are way more than you give yourself credit for, I already know it!)

In any case, thank you for being here!! I haven’t said it in a while and I’m truly grateful. 💖

Second, the title of this post is actually true!! I am literally a WALKING HUMAN HEALING EXPERIMENT!!!!!!!

Allow me to explain. And if you are familiar with my story and the current events of my life, please feel free to skip ahead to the “back story” photos….😁…… because after THAT is where I will get to the juicy part of the story! Until then, the stage needs to be fully set before it actually makes sense, in my opinion. Therefore, let’s set the stage for the raising of the curtain!

SO, ever since my knee surgery was cancelled from April of this year, I placed a pause on my original intention for this blog and went in a different direction. See, I was planning on having a Left Knee ACL Reconstructive Surgery in April, which would be my third experience with this complex procedure and my sixth overall knee surgery. With my blog, my hopes were to discuss my ACL Reconstruction experience in real time, to explain what to do in order to heal as successfully as possible, AND ESPECIALLY to emphasize what NOT to do during/after this process so you can avoid my many, many………MANY mistakes.

Once my surgery was postponed, I decided to focus on making myself as whole, as strong, as structurally-aligned, as emotionally-flexible, and as mentally-prepared as I could. Which is the new direction that my blog took: My continued, yet waaaaay more in-depth, personal quest to be the best version of myself so that my body would be as ready as possible for this upcoming surgery. In every way that I could be!

And through my research, readings, podcasts, YouTube, and accumulation of such influential ideas and knowledge, I wanted to share my excitement from it all with YOU!! I always hoped (and still hope!!) that these things may provide you with new perspectives, like it has done for me!! Or, at least, maybe they may present you with new concepts and ideas to think about and consider – – sometimes that’s all it takes for a life-changing “AHA” moment to happen!

And so, this has been my new intention for this blog since April-ish to the present time!!!!

Now – – – – – – – – –

BACK:

STORY:

BACKSTORY COMPLETE!!!!!!! (Get it?!?! 😜)

Now that we are all on the same page, HERE IT IS!! The details on how I can call myself a living, healing experiment!

Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it??!!??!! 👏🏼👏🏼

Wait for it………😁 (HAMILTON!! Such a great song, for those of you familiar…🎶)

Well, on my MRI for my left knee, taken in July 2019, I was told that I had no ACL, a root tear to the posterior horn of my lateral meniscus, (so a deep tear on the back-left part of my meniscus), and a hole in the medial cartilage, to the right of my knee cap. A big ‘ol mess, I know.

Now, since then, I did have a surgery in November 2019 BUT it was for bone grafts, to fill in the tunnel holes from the first ACL Reconstruction that I had back in 2013. Without getting crazy-detailed, let’s just say that yes, my first ACL Reconstruction “failed” and that I needed this bone graft surgery in order to have my ACL Reconstruction redone for a future time. The surgeon filled in the bones back in November but did not touch my torn meniscus or the damaged medial cartilage.

Here’s the interesting part. Have you ever heard anyone say that broken cartilage won’t heal, especially in knees and hips? That, if you find out that the cartilage in your knees, for example, are wearing away, that that automatically means that you will soon be a candidate for a knee surgery or even a knee partial/full replacement? Like, there is nothing that you can do to “fix” this often painful issue? And why is this said???? Because once that cartilage is gone, it supposedly can never be regenerated…

WELL, we will see about that.

– – – – The curtain begins to rise… – – – –

At this point in time, I have not rescheduled my ACL surgery. Simply put, our country, the USA, is (still) HAVING MAJOR ISSUES (I don’t think that there can be a bigger understatement?!) and it still does not feel like the best time to have an elective surgery that requires a specific and well-timed rehab process of at least SIX months….Though, for me, with everything that my knee has been through? I most likely will need NINE to TWELVE MONTHS of rehab to return to the activities that I love. Yeah, it’s not what anyone would call a “short” recovery process. Plus, it requires the assistance of a qualified and ACL-recovery-proficient Physical Therapist or else you (okay, I….) may be very screwed! Trust me on this one. ‼️🔩🔩🔩🔩🔩‼️

– – – – The curtain is now over-halfway… – – – –

Anyways, when I do finally go back to a surgeon and get re-evaluated, they will most likely want a new and current MRI!!

– – – – THE CURTAIN IS UP!!!!! – – – –

And THAT, my friends, is when I will find out if anything in my knee has healed!! If the hole in my cartilage is better or maybe beautifully healed and even if my meniscus looks different or has had any healing!! Sadly, I cannot regrow a brand-new ACL by myself – – wouldn’t THAT be the best magic trick EVER????? – – but how great would it be if I could prove that the body can really heal itself if we give it time and allow it to do it’s job??? Especially that pesky damaged cartilage that supposedly can “rarely” or “never” be naturally healed?

What if I could prove that to be so far from the truth!!!!!!!!

Here is what I think. That we blame age for a lot of things. If we develop tightness or hurt ourselves coughing or have knee pain or struggle to touch our toes or have broken/worn-down cartilage or….<choose your own personal example to place HERE>….then we often say it’s because “we’re old” or “we’re getting old.”

It almost seems expected that we are meant to start declining and having functioning issues once we reach a certain age….just because we’ve reached that certain age!! Because that is the “only” explanation for it, right?!?!? 🤨

YET, how many times do we actually move our ENTIRE body voluntarily through it’s complete range of motion every day? Be honest…we can agree that it’s not a universal priority.

How many hours per day do we stay seated, in front of a computer, the tv, driving, and so on? Possibly (way) more than walking, moving, and being active.

Do those many hours per day of sitting often negate a quick workout or a Yoga/stretch session? They definitely can.

How many of us can say that we have perfect natural posture right at this moment? And not just the “oh-yeah-pull–my-shoulders-back-and-sit-up-straight” moments that we can have at times but rather our automatic posture in which we carry ourselves on a regular basis. Often, our bodies aren’t as structurally aligned as we think they are, even when no pain is initially present.

Enough of my tangents!!

Here is what I believe. That the body has this magnificent capacity for healing, no matter what age you are! This doesn’t mysteriously stop when we get to our 30’s or 40’s or 50’s or 60’s or 70’s or 80’s or 90’s or 100’s. If I’m 105 years old and I get a papercut on my hand, should I not expect that to heal? Because I am, after all, OLD(-ish!😉) No, of course not! At this point, the body may be moving slower but it still has the ability to heal a cut, also known as regenerating cells.

So, cartilage is made of cells, too. Why would that be any different, you know? Just something to think about.

Also, I believe that if we provide the body with the right healing environment – – like optimal joint alignment and time – – then the body can heal what it needs to heal, like damaged cartilage and tissue, and therefore regenerate new cell growth. AND since I have had plenty of time to focus on posture, specific training for my alignment, my emotional and mental healing, (my personal quest!!) and, oh yes, PLENTY of time away from my once-normal constant running around that I used to do…..Well then, I am providing my body with the proper conditions for it to heal itself.

Which means that I am conducting my self-experiment in a strategic, orderly, and proper way with no cheating!!!!! And now my left knee, with it’s interior messiness that is supposedly there, can be our proof as to if healing is truly possible.

How cool is that?!?!?!?!

I will keep you posted and we shall discuss the results of my future MRI whenever that comes to be!!!!!

I shall now leave you with three final things to look at and consider. Maybe perspective, maybe inspiration, maybe motivation, maybe contemplation…..take it or leave it, my friends!!! You know how it goes!! 😊

1) Let’s say that my knee has been out of alignment since I re-injured it last summer. In other words, the bones that make up my knee are shifted and more pressure is now being placed on the inside of my knee. AND because of this poor shift in alignment of my knee, the cartilage in my medial knee has started to rub against each other when walking, creating friction, and slowly wearing away the cartilage between the bones.

If I never change my posture and I never work to realign the bones in my legs, therefore in my knees, can I really expect this cartilage to get better and start to heal on it’s own????? So then, is it a surprise when the grating, grinding, and wearing away of this cartilage continues to get worse and worse?

In my opinion, that is a reason behind why the theory exists that “broken and worn-down cartilage can never or rarely heal on it’s own.” Because the posture is never changed so the grinding/friction never stops due to the poor alignment – – – possibly leading to bone-on-bone pain or other complications. Posture affects everything in our body (and vice-versa) so it’s so important to try and look at the body as a whole and look beyond the symptom.

2) Continuing on from #1, the body never does ANYTHING without a reason and that reason is rarely, if ever, AGE!!!!!! If you need proof of THAT and also proof that staying active is how you get eternal youth, here you are:

Oopsies!!! ‘CHOICE’ got cut off from the picture…..^^^ But you get the idea!! She’s freakin’ amazing, right?!?!?! Never let age stop you with where you wish to go from here!! 💪🏼❣️👏🏼❣️💪🏼❣️👏🏼

3). As said by Tracie McMillan, relationship author and TV writer for shows like Mad Men:

“If you do your inner work, the places where you have the most challenges in your life become the places where you have the most to give.”

Let’s think of our major struggles and where it seems like we have been tested the most in our lives up to this point. Those areas, that most likely have created MAJOR stress, heartbreak, heartache, and so much brain power and effort to deal with and cope, are the places where we have the most to give. The most compassion that we can give to others experiencing the same things. The most guidance and perspective that we can offer to others who may need the help or would benefit so much to know how we got through it all.

For me, without a doubt, it is my knee injuries, mainly the lovely ACL injuries, surgeries, and recoveries. And how I have cultivated new-and-improved body awareness and postural awareness to move forward, as pain-free and limitation-free as possible. Which is the most important reason that I wanted my blog to capture and narrate the story of my knee injury journey. To provide perspective, tons of experience, and to help anyone that I can learn from my trials, errors, massive fails, uplifting successes, and my inspirational comeback – – for which I am still waiting and CAN’T WAIT TO REACH!!!!!!

I have A LOT to give on this “knee injury” subject can you tell?!?!?! 😆😳🤪

And yourself?!?!?!?!?!?!

What is it for you?❓?❓?❓?❓?❓?

Never forget:

Our story – – every bit of it – – MATTERS. Not only for ourselves, but for others that are unknowingly following in our footsteps.

And reaching out, even to help just one incredible soul, would make all the difference in the world.

To that person and to us.

From Jaycee’s Footprints (that’s me!!!) to YOU!!! 🥰

👣❤️👣❤️👣❤️👣❤️👣❤️👣❤️👣❤️